The embodiments herein relate generally to machines that wrap a tie around a product. In some cases the tie can be made from wire or laminated. Ties can be laminated with plastic, paper or a combination of these. The products can include clothes hangers, parts kits, coiled materials, bags, and agricultural products among other products. These are commonly called, “twist-tying machines.” Some endeavors in this field include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,817 issued to O'Sullivan; U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,555 issued to Raymond; U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,343 issued to Dyer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,011 issued to Hidassy; U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,336 issued to LeBan; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,484,366 and 6,302,157 issued to Deschenes; U.S. Patent Application Pre-Grant Publication 2004/0045452 filed by Schumacher; German Patent 4,035,967 filed by Kurmis; U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,610 issued to Levin; U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,767 issued to Nagaoka; U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,440 issued to Crichton; U.S. Patent Application Pre-grant publication US20070034338A1 filed by Ogawa; U.S. Patent Application Pre-grant Publication 2011/0072763 issued to Schaety; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,342 issued to Nishikawa.
O'Sullivan and Hidassy teach a product-wrapping and tying device that has a pair of jaws comprising a lower fixed jaw and a pivotal moving upper jaw. The jaws are thin ring-shaped in O'Sullivan. Hidassy is similar with a hook shape. Schaety uses a flat movable lower jaw. Schumacher and Ogawa have the lower jaw movable. Instead of one jaw Crichton uses a pair of ring assemblies.
Lesser, LeBan, and Nishikawa teach automatically operating binding devices with guide jaws. The guide jaws include a guide groove that is aligned with the inlet end of the through-channel in the lock when the jaws are closed. The groove is aligned with the insertion channel of the lock at its outlet end. LeBan teaches that both jaws have a circumferential guide track that accepts the strap of a cable tie. Deschenes would use a jaw assembly comprising an upper jaw, a cam, a linkage, a lower jaw and a jaw assembly motor which is electrically connected to a control circuit and which is activated by depressing a trigger. Kurmis attaches the lower jaw to a cam instead of the upper jaw.
Dyer teaches a jaw assembly for use with a twist tying device. The jaw assembly includes an upper jaw receiver is disposed between the guide groove of the distal portion of the upper jaw and the guide groove of the proximal portion of the upper jaw. The guide groove within the proximal portion of the upper jaw is tapered inwardly deeper and away from the upper jaw edge at its distal-most point. Levin has a groove, but goes another way entirely using the rear jaw to mate the tool to a fixture through a mounting pin instead of the groove. Nagaoka teaches that feeding a wire through a guide part that appeals to be more of tunnel than a channel is efficient.